


Sleep Tight

by Anon_E_Muss



Series: Solatorobo content we desperately need. [1]
Category: Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Furry, Guilt, Humor, Literal Sleeping Together, Nightmares, Oneshot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sleepy Cuddles, obscure fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:48:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28826961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anon_E_Muss/pseuds/Anon_E_Muss
Summary: Red Savarin was many things; hunter, hybrid, arena ship title-holder, air-robo GP champion, two-time savior of the Shepherd Republic and the world at large, and an insomniac.When Red, being Red, refuses to admit to being that last one, Elh's patience with him wears thin.
Relationships: Red Savarin/Elh Melizée
Series: Solatorobo content we desperately need. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113644
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Sleep Tight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Darklions3429](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darklions3429/gifts).



> I’m gifting this to Darklions3429 because he’s literally the only other fan of this game that I know is still active.

~~~~_A dark tunnel of train tracks stretched ahead. Dust littered the ground, sent from stonework from the roof, made loose with tremors. Dark green light cast weak shadows around a pair of figures as they ran. The tracks that just a few days ago were straight and laid for trains to use were uprooted and twisted, creating a narrow and winding path, just barely wide enough for the two of them._

_Red was running, no, he was fleeing. He held onto Elh's hand tight, maybe a little too tight. There wasn't time to worry about that. He could say sorry later, assuming the both of them still lived._

_"It's getting closer," Elh said, looking back over the twisted lanes of metal._

_Red spared a quick glance behind him. Around the corner, he could see its shadow, as the sound of metal crushing metal echoed across the tunnel. As the metal scrapped together, it gave stainless steel screeches, sounding like the souls of the damned._

_"Move," Red said hurryingly. "Move!"_

_Elh did indeed move, now running in front of Red instead of behind him. She ducked and weaved around and in between the larger gaps of the irons, moving quicker on her own. Red took to climbing over and following as closely as he could, even as the steps became quakes._

_Whatever it was that was chasing them had apparently had enough. There was was a terrible moment of absolute quiet, broken only by their footfalls and breaths. Then, there was a sudden gust of wind, and a resounding whoosh of air as the metal thing spread its wings and launched itself around the corner._

_Red drew his stun gun and turned to face the creature. "Keep runnin'!" he called. He could see it advancing on them. It spread its wings once again. With another dash, it would be upon them. Red squared his shoulders and squinted his eyes. With a small grunt, he pulled down his goggles over his eyes._

_The thing swept its wings once again as it shot forward. Red pulled the trigger on his stun-gun, and a ball of plasma shot its way towards the creature._

_With a shuddering creak, the creature tumbled down, unable to support itself as electricity danced across its frame. The still, slightly twitching figure slid and skidded as it landed, grinding to a halt just a few steps in front of Red._

_Red was about to fire again, when he saw the figure in full. It was a robot that he was intimately familiar with. It had a large, top-heavy body attached to a pair of segmented arms, which looked almost like wings. Red stared at the robot. Mechanical green eyes stared back._

_"Dahak?" Red asked disbelievingly. The gun dropped from his hands, clattering to the floor. After a moment, he heard a pair of footsteps coming back towards him, accompanied by the sound of large wheels propelling another robot that he knew, this time it was the Salamander._

_A warm hand grasped his and pulled hard. "Red," Elh said. "Red, please. We need to leave."_

_"She's right," Béluga said from his seat atop the Salamander. "As soon as the Dahak regains power, it'll kill us all. We need to leave. Now."_

_Red knew their words for fact. He knew that the face of his most valued possession would soon be the face of his death. All the same, he could not look away._

_The Dahak's eyes regained their brightness, shining with power and purpose. It was almost hypnotic, in a way._

_Then Red felt a pressure in his skull, a sudden discomfort that made him gasp in surprise. He developed a headache not a moment later, before experiencing his head being split open by a thousand voices trying to force their way in. Elh gave one last pull before Red felt her hand leave his. She still called out to him; dimly he could hear her crying out his name._

_Elh's cries, however, were droned out by the voices of Juno, drilling their way into Red's head. They all spoke in unison, repeating the same phrase, the same Order. "Stop it," Red gasped. "Stop it stop it stop it!" Red screamed as he felt his brain pressing against his skull. He was being brought into Trance. He felt the fur leave his frame as his body was enveloped in light._

_The light faded shortly, leaving behind a now human Red. The Dahak was gone, instead being morphed into a pair of mechanical arms floating alongside Red, ready to follow his movements._

_Red turned around, and without comprehending what he was seeing, set his eyes on the Salamander. His eyes were no longer his own to see with: they were Juno's tools to use now. Juno's will came to him loud and clear, being the only voice in his head. ' **Destroy. Bring Order to Time.** '_

_In an instant, Red shot forward, using his Trance's enhanced abilities. He was directly in front of the Salamander now, mechanical appendages gripping the Salamander's arms. With a single motion, he tore them free from the Salamander's body, letting them fall to the sides. Red then slammed his mechanical arms together on the Salamander's chassis. The result was a crunching of metal that left Beluga trapped in his robot's cockpit. Dimly, Red could hear Béluga cry out from what was likely a few broken ribs._

_Red was not yet finished fulfilling his orders, however. As he had done to many, many things in the past, Red hoisted the Salamander above his head, and threw it forwad. It tumbled with a shaking crash, landing on it's side, and leaving Béluga to hang limp by his legs, still trapped in the cockpit._

_Red raised on arm behind him, accessing a power that he could only wield in Trance. Sparks of off-white blue danced around the mechanical claw, forming themselves into a loose outline of a javelin._

_Red gave a grunt as he flung it forth, watching as it soared from his claw, though the air, before finally engulfing the Salamander. The result was a rush of wind and fire, accompanied by bits of metal remains and smoldering oil._

_Red stood still for a moment, before Juno's multitude of voices came again. ' **Destroy. Bring Order to Time.** '_

_Red's uncompromising, uncomprehending gaze swept the tunnel, before finally setting sights on Elh. Without any recognition, he watched and heard her back away, pleading for him to pull through, to fight Juno's control._

_He didn't bother running, there was no way she could escape. He heard her beg. He saw her cry. His eyes showed no sign of caring, or any emotion at all._

_Consciously, Red could perceive nothing. He could not feel for himself his hands wrapping around something strong, yet delicate. He could not hear the gasp of surprise. He could not hear the gasp as it turned into a choked series of breaths, and then back to gasps, and then nothing at all. A limp body hit the ground, folding on itself._

_Juno's Order fulfilled, the multitude of voices retreated from Red's head. The form of his Trance left with them, returning his fur to him. Still slightly lost, Red blinked a few times, feeling himself regain control of his body._

_He looked down._

_He wished he hadn't. He fell to his knees and shook the body. "Elh. Elh, please. Please, say somethin'. Please." Desperation set in, and he pulled the body close. "Please!" he cried out, his vision blurring. "Just let me know you're okay."_

_There was no response. Red pulled away slightly, hoping to see some glimmer of recognition in the eyes. He could not find any. He pulled away further as he noticed his paws. His gloves were stained with a dark color. Red. Not the fiery orange-brown of his pelt, nor the bright sheen of fresh fruits. Dark red like wine stained his paws._

* * *

With a jerk upright, Red woke in his bedroom panting hard, sweating, and clutching his hand to his heart. He sat still for a few moments, still caught up in his nightmare. Moonlight filtered through the windows, casting a gentle light throughout the room. The air and atmosphere was one of stillness, from the unmoving wood, to Red's raggedly breathing figure.

His eyes scanned the room, and found that Red could ground himself slightly. His breathing evened out, but his paw still gripped his shirt tightly. Red closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was fine. Elh was fine. Everything was fine. "Just a nightmare," he said to himself. Another nightmare.

Slowly, with shaking legs, he stood up. On impulse, he grabbed his goggles from where they rested next to his bed. He could hardly remember when or where he had gotten them, but they always made him feel safer.

He slipped out the door and started to tour the Asmodeus, careful to make as little noise as possible. Just because he was having trouble didn't mean he could wake up the others. Padding downstairs, he made his way into the hangar.

He made sure to close the door behind him as he headed inside. There was a large object covered in a tarp. Red stepped closer to it, before pulling the sheet away to reveal what lay beneath.

Red stared at the robot in front of him. The Dahak was still and lifeless. Without power and without a pilot, it still stood proud. The eyes were dull with inactivity, but to Red, they would never stop shining.

In some ways, Red pondered, the Dahak was his oldest ally. He had been found with the Dahak, and the Dahak had been with him since. The Dahak was his livelihood; he was able to do a great number of jobs thanks to the power the Dahak had within it.

Red held his breath, and brushed his paw against the metal of the Dahak's head. It was firm and uncompromising, just like any other machine, but at the moment, Red didn't really care. Setting his paw on the machine felt grounding, reaffirming. It was stupid to think of the Dahak as something to be afraid of; he had defied Baion, and Juno by extension, using this very robot. The only way that the Dahak could hurt someone is if Red used it to hurt someone.

Red pulled his paw away from the robot. He stared at his paw for a few moments. There were no stains. No physical stains, at least.

Red huffed at himself before shaking his head. He dragged the tarp back over the Dahak and left the hangar. He walked back up the stairs, but paused at his door. He still wasn't ready to go back to bed.

Looking through photos and reading were things best left for when there was enough light outside to see them. Listening to music wasn't an option as Elh and Chocolat were probably still asleep. The only thing left then was to head outside and get some fresher air.

It only took him a short trip upstairs and through the door before he was out on the deck, in the cool night air. The Asmodeus was docked at Airedale at the moment. From where he stood, Red could almost see the spot where he and his sister had taken the job that started everything. (Now that Red thought about it, they never did find out what Québec needed those documents for.)

Going into the Hindenburg, finding the amulet, finding Elh; it had all started, truthfully, in Airedale. It was quiet outside. Only the most dedicated night-owls and the most incurable insomniacs were up at this hour. "I wonder which one I am?" Red said aloud.

"Which one of what?" a voice asked behind him.

Red's ears perked up before he turned to see Elh standing near the doorway. "Elh? What are you doing up?"

"I like the night." Elh said simply. She was wearing loose-fitting garments, intentionally a size too big. Her grey fur shone silver in the moonlight, and her amber eyes glowed.

"Uh-huh," Red said, for lack of a better response.

"So," Elh said. "Which one of what?"

Red shrugged and returned his gaze to the city. "Oh, nothin'. Just that I figure that anybody out here at this time of night is either nocturnal, or an insomniac."

Elh gave a small hum of acknowledgment. "Couldn't sleep?"

Red gave a small scoff. "Just a stupid dream. I'll be ready to turn back in in just a minute."

Elh was quiet for a minute. Red grew slightly uncomfortable under her studying gaze. "Is there something wrong?"

Red waved his hand. "Like I said, it was just a dream. Nothin' to worry about."

"I wouldn't be worried," Elh said, "if this wasn't the fifth time you've been awake at night."

Red gave a slight choke in surprise. "W-what?"

"My room's right next to the stairs, Red. I know how you sneak up here every other night."

Red tried his best to give a smile. "I have. . . no idea what you're talkin' about. . ."

Elh's gaze grew flat. "Red," she said with just as much flatness.

Red paused before, seeing that there was no way to win this battle, giving a heavy sigh of defeat and resting against the Asmodeus' railing. "Okay. . . I might have a bit of a problem."

Elh was quiet, clearly waiting for him to continue.

"Look, it's not anythin' you can fix, alright?" Red said with uncharacteristic gentleness. "My inner demons are mine to deal with; they won't go away just because someone decides to ask nicely. The best thing you can do is not worry about it."

Elh was quiet for a few moments. "Have you ever considered actually talking about it?"

"You're supposed to forget dreams right?" Red asked rhetorically. "If I don't dwell on it, then they should fade."

"If you being out here in the middle of the night is any indication, then no, you don't forget. You're still thinking about the one you just had, aren't you."

Red was silent. ". . . If I tell you what happens in my nightmares, you won't like what you hear."

Elh stood still before raising her paw slightly. She hesitated for a moment, before setting it on Red's. "I'm here to listen," she said quietly.

Red looked down at the paw over his, then to the person who it belonged to, before taking a deep breath. "They're about Juno. About the Order."

"When you were pulled into Trance? In Pharoah?" Elh asked gently.

Red nodded. "Sometimes. It's more about what I did when Juno's Order came through. Sometimes its Nero and Blanck that I. . ." Red steadied himself against the railing. "In every one of these dreams, Juno orders that I destroy. Sometimes things go down like in they did in Pharaoh. Other times it's someplace else, or with someone else. There's one thing that's pretty much the same, though.

"Usually you're there. And you see everything that I do. And when I've finished off whoever else's in my dream, Juno's Order sic's me on you. But unlike what happened in Pharaoh. . ."

Elh could venture a guess. "In your dreams. . . you don't come out of Trance, do you?"

Red shook his head. "Not in time. When I do, it's too late to save you. At that point I try to get a response out of you, but there's never anything."

Elh stood a little closer to Red, and gave his paw a reassuring squeeze. "I'm still alive, aren't I? They're just dreams."

Red shook his head. "That's what makes them so bad. It might not have happened exactly how I dream, but something like that actually happened. All the things that my head whips up. . . they could have actually happened."

". . . But they didn't. I'm still here. Nero and Blanck are even getting new bodies. In fact, we were going to visit Merveille sometime later this week to check on that."

"Does that change anythin'?" Red asked rhetorically. ". . . Elh, I came back to myself with my hands around your neck. That's not somethin' that's goin' away anytime soon."

Silence ruled between the two of them, broken only by the gently whispering winds. "Alright then," Elh said with finality. She grabbed Red's hand and started to pull him back towards the Asmodeus' interior. "Elh? What are you doin'?" Red asked as he was dragged through the door.

"If I can't stop making you feel guilty about something that wasn't your fault, then I can at least make sure that it doesn't make you lose sleep about it. If that means being there to watch you myself then so be it."

"What?!" Red gasped. He lowered his voice once he remembered that Chocolat was supposed to be sleeping. (Although with two out of three people on the Asmodeus awake, it wouldn't surprise Red if he found his sister up as well.) "Isn't this a little bit much? I mean, what about boundaries?"

Elh huffed. "Oh please. You've already seen me near-naked, sharing a bed is positively tame in comparison."

Red scratched his chin, the memory bringing color to his cheeks. "Still mad about that, huh?"

Elh's cheeks donned their own color. "I don't think I'll ever not be mad about that." Red gave a little chuckle, causing Elh's cheeks to brighten further.

After a short while, Elh had successfully dragged Red back into his room. "So. . . how is this gonna work? You're going to watch me sleep or somethin'?"

Elh shook her head, before setting herself down to the bed. "No. You're going to get to sleep because you being up keeps me up." As if to prove her point, she laid herself down onto her side, curling slightly. She closed her eyes, clearly intent on proving a point of some sort.

Red stared for a moment. He scratched the back of his head before searching the room. He could just walk out, but Elh would undoubtedly hear. With nothing else to do but concede defeat, he walked over to the other side of the bed and thought about how to make this work.

Sharing a bed was something that he had only done a few times, when room was sparse at the orphanage Chocolat and himself were raised at. Red had a tendency to spread himself out in his sleep, meaning most of the time, Chocolat had woken up with her brother near crushing her lungs.

Red sighed. It was bad enough when he was a kid. He didn't want to imagine what it would be like now that he had grown. He ran his paw over his face before settling down next to Elh. "If this doesn't work," he whispered. "Don't say that I didn't warn you."

"Just try," Elh said, not opening her eyes. "Please?"

Red stopped short. Then he sighed and tried to get comfortable. It was something of a small fit with the both of them. He couldn't lay spread like he normally did. Seeking to find a way to fit himself comfortably, he lied onto his side, facing away from Elh. Trusting, albeit hesitantly, that he could get some semblance of rest, he closed his eyes, deepened his breathing, and let himself fall asleep.

* * *

Elh was the first to wake up. Sunlight filtered through the windows, gently sinking behind her eyelids. A soft, rhythmic rustling sounded above her ears, pushing her out of sleep. Elh blinked a few times, clearing the blurriness from her vision.

She yawned, and was about to sit up out of habit, before feeling a heavy weight around her body. Looking down, she saw a familiar arm wrapped around her waist.

Now coming to herself more, she looked up and saw that Red was the source of noise, still sleeping. She was about to panic, before memories of last night started to come back. She had volunteered to stay in Red's room.

Elh blinked. "I. . . guess it worked better than I thought it would," she whispered. It was relieving to see Red sleeping soundly. All the same, Elh was just a little bit annoyed at her current situation. She had not volunteered to be cuddled in her sleep. She sighed. "At least it can't get much worse."

As if to prove her wrong, the sound of steps along the wooden floor reached her ears at that moment. Elh went entirely straight, before starting to wriggle her way out of Red's grasp. Elh's struggles soon became for naught.

Red made a sort of grumbling noise in his sleep and his grip on Elh tightened. Elh stopped, before letting out a groan of defeat. Already resigned to her fate, she had no reaction when Chocolat opened the door.

Chocolat herself had no reaction at first, outside of a flat shock.

Elh gave a small, unenthusiastic wave.

Chocolat's face split into a grin that made her look more Felineko than Caninu. "Good morning," she greeted quietly.

"Chocolat, I swear this isn't what it looks like."

"Really?" Chocolat asked, trying to hold in laughter.

"Yes!" Elh whisper-yelled. Unfortunately, this was just a few decibels too loud, causing Red to stir slightly, adjust his position, and release a noise that sounded astonishingly similar to her name.

Silence ruled the room as Elh's cheeks burned and Chocolat bit her lips in an attempt to hold back her laughter. Elh took a deep, steadying breath before fixing Chocolat with the flattest stare she could muster. "Not a word."

Chocolat, took a few moments, waiting for her laughter to die down before nodding and holding a finger to her mouth.

Elh waited until Chocolat was heading back out the room and down the hall before allowing herself to breathe a deep sigh of relief. This sense of relief came crashing down just a few moments later, as she heard Chocolat's steps heading back towards the room.

Elh looked on with dread as Chocolat reappeared, this time carrying her instrument of doom.

"Chocolat, put that down," Elh warned. Fear grew within her as she saw that her words had no effect on Chocolat. "Please?" No luck, the device was almost ready. "Can. . . can we just talk about this first?"

Chocolat simply grinned as she looked through her weapon of choice. She readied her finger over the button. "Smile."

_Snap!_

Red snorted and jumped at the noise and light. He picked himself up. "What?. . ." The scene came together in a series of details for Red. First, was Elh laying below him. Second was Chocolat standing at the doorway. The third and final piece of the puzzle was the camera in her hands, and the photo that was printing itself out.

Chocolat took a hold of the photo as soon as it was done. "Oh, this came out great! I'm gonna have to keep this one." Her eyes rose from the picture only to be greeted with a matching pair of furiously burning gazes.

"Chocolat," Red growled.

"If you don't hand over that picture right now. . ." Elh said warningly.

Chocolat gave a small, awkward laugh. Then she turned around and ran out the door as fast as she could.


End file.
